What NOT to do in a broadcast

I realize it's been a while since I've updated. Some intelligent thoughts (and some less intelligent) coming soon. I'm snowed in with my thesis. For now:

The World's Most Generic News Report

I think you could teach all you need to know about TV new reports just using this single clip from Newswipe:

Islam Viewed Disfavorably in U.S.

Surprise, surprise. American's have an unfavorable impression of Islam according to a recent Gallup poll. The feeling is fairly mutual according to a book last summer that notes that a high percentage of Muslims don't care for the United States. That book was also based on a Gallup poll. Here's the story on the new poll of Americans by the Salt Lake Tribune:

Washington » A majority of Americans have an unfavorable impression of Islam, alone among major religions, a new poll finds.

The survey by the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies found 53 percent of Americans view Islam unfavorably compared with 42 percent who view the religion favorably. Majorities view other major religions favorably: 91 percent for Christianity, 71 percent for Judaism and 58 percent for Buddhism.

"The Arab"

The Coverage and Representations of The Arab in Western Media

This is a street ethnography performed in late 2009 in partnership with Amy Johnson of Georgetown University's Islamic Studies Department.

Part One

Part Two

Why Copy Editors Matter

Hilarious. In the above, a Toronto Star editor copyedits the publishers memo announcing layoffs. It was the editor's subtle clue that the publisher could benefit from editorial aid and that outsourcing copyediting to freelancers might not be the best idea.

There's no doubt that newspapers are in trouble. Copy editor layoffs haven't gotten much attention -- certainly not as much as the reporter layoffs. After all, copy editors are invisible by nature. They're layoffs are the unacknowledged part of the larger loss of "journalism jobs."

Unfortunately, the marketplace now eliminates journalism jobs at a rate in excess of 1,000 a month.

That's a lot of people out of work, and in the case of copy editors, a lot of people who served a valuable function to the community. What do we lose with copy editors?

(1) We lose people who know their community- During one stint as a copy editor, I had a piece of copy come across my desk that said that an informal but influential village council was dissolving itself because the council members all hated each other. I'd only been there a month or so, but sounds like BIG news right? Wrong. Turns out they used to do that every six months or so. They'd take a month off and when people started talking about electing new council members, the old council members would go back to work.

I had no sense of how important the news was. And I don't doubt that there are the occasional geeks who know all sorts of random information about their community. But in my experience those geeks want to be paid (there's not a lot of interest in "Citizen Copyediting"--not a ton of perks). More likely you'll get cheap editors who can do some story structure, some grammar editing but aren't going to be the best when it comes to deciding what goes on A1. Here's Poynter:

Copy editors matter. They bring news elements together to make the whole more than the individual parts. They think about news packages, news pages and overall content and credibility.

(2) We lose people who care about getting accurate information- As the copy editor said in his edit of the publisher's memo, to lose your salaried copy editors is to lose people who, well, care if an error gets into a story. Here's another adventure from that same, very weird newspaper.

One time I got a 6000-word story on a council meeting. It was supposed to be 600. And I had to edit it. I was pretty sure I was going to quit. But I didn't. Am I a hero for not quitting? I can't really say. But yes.

Once I trimmed it down to about the right length, I found a little gem. In this middle of the story with no context, no explanation, there was an unattributed quote: "She does it so good. I really love it when she does it for me. We don't even have to pay her. Let's have her do it more."

To this day, I have no idea what that quote was about. But the fact is, I didn't have to care. And in many situations -- far more serious than a random quote -- salaried copy editors serve to protect misinformation from getting into the hands of the public. Losing stakeholders, losing copy editors is loosing a hold on misinformation. And you know, after that story (which I essentially rewrote), I didn't even get a byline. The reporter got calls telling her how good her story was.

Karen Dunlap's post does make copy editors sound like superheroes, but she does make a good point:

They know that some of their best work is invisible. Writers and editors might admire the flow of a story without noting the deletion of an article, a change in punctuation, or the upgrading of verbs that helped the story flow.

Copy editors know that their work is also among the most read and influential copy in newspapers or online. Even television news turns increasingly to headline writers to produce news crawls across the bottom of the screen.

The industry is changing and it's hard to argue that cuts have to be made. But in the case of copy editors: their contribution was invisible, but their exit will be very evident.

The Real Reason Newspapers Are Dying?

Ah. See! Columbia has fixed the problem of newspapers. We develop journalists who also (kinda) rap. We just need to have this guy rap the top stories of the day--a sort of revisited age of News Ballads.

GopherLink! Found this story an email from about a year ago. Besides the election reference, it's still a completely relevant piece on the lack of evangelicals in newsrooms. Read more here.

GopherLink! Egyptian Law No. 100 and why it destroys press freedom. Read more here.

Review: Arab Mass Media

The essential message of William Rugh's updated study of the Arab world (he wrote the foundational book "The Arab Press" in the 1970s), is the government shapes the media and, to a certain extent, the media shapes the government. This is particularly interesting in the Arab world because, while the Arab countries share numerous similarities, the environments can be vastly different as a result of the government in place. (and I would add, it can also be different depending on the amount of internet penetration. Compare Lebanon and Saudi Arabia).

The mass media play a larger role than other forms of communication in the daily lives of people everywhere, but especially in the Arab world. These media are consequently regarded by politicians and governments as having great political importance. In fact, the acquisition and distribution of news has been seen for a long time as a vital political function in society because the news items may have political impact very quickly on large numbers of people...The way government and society deal with this institution (mass media) is significant for an understanding of that government and society as well as of the mass communications process. (Rugh xiv)

Rugh spends much the book updating the information he'd obtained for "The Arab Press." Whereas the press and the media were perhaps less developed at this time, the number of type of communications outlets has proliferated so that even the poorest Arab countries have television stations etc. By the late 70s all Arab countries not only had their own television stations but their own magazines and newspapers) (Rugh xiv-xv). As in his previous work, Rugh uses a typology unique to the Arab world to characterize the ways in which media operate. The four categories are:

(1) The Mobilization Press- (Syria, Libya, Sudan) The press system where "the ruling group is aggressively dedicated to revolutionary change, and it has managed to eliminate all real organized public opposition domestically, but requires active support from the media to help achieve its stated goals and combat its declared enemies" (Rugh 251).
(2) The Loyalist Press- (Bahrain, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE) is seated in countries where a "more traditional political system prevails; all are monarchies except Palestine, which has been dominated overwhelmingly by one man. No significant opposition exists, but the government, more satisfied with the status quo than intent on change, is content with passive acquiescence from the public and does not require the press to generate action" (Rugh 251-252).
(3) The Diverse Press- (Lebanon, Moracco, Kuwait, Yemen, Iraq) it takes place in a "political environment where the public expression of a variety of opinions and viewpoints, including criticism of the government, is possible, and where the regime does not intervene to suppress all open dissent" (Rugh 252). The government may occasionally take action against a news outlet, but it is rare and done primarily through the courts.
(4) The Transitional Press- (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia) this press system is a "mixed system in which the largest circulation print media are controlled directly by the government but smaller ones are owned by private individuals or parties, and they have some latitude to criticize those in power" (Rugh 252). The government does try to restrict them at times, but it uses the courts as well and relies on journalists' self-censorship.

These types of press systems aren't an accidental bi-product of political realities, but an object of political calculation (Rugh 254). According to Rugh, the biggest indicator in determining the nature of the relationship between the press and the government is the diversity of press publications. In every Arab country, some media will be in complete support of government policy (Rugh 252). The essential function of the diverse press which allows it to have the freest press in the Arab World (Morocco Lebanon, Kuwait) is the existence of a genuine opposition to the ruling party which can function openly. If no public opposition is allowed, it follows that the press will be in uniform voice (Rugh 253).

Interestingly, the most tightly controlled media (radio and television) are the media which have given the Arab public the most freedom. Because while the media in their country may not aire any news about local government, another country within airwaves may be willing.

APA "repudiates" gay-to-straight therapy

The coverage of the new APA report on homosexuality is interesting in that it was well covered almost everywhere I looked. I've included some highlights of this coverage.

Here's the top three graphs of Associated Press:

The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.

In a resolution adopted by the APA's governing council, and in an accompanying report, the association issued its most comprehensive repudiation of "reparative therapy" — a concept espoused by a small but persistent group of therapists, often allied with religious conservatives, who maintain gays can change.

No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the resolution, adopted by a 125-4 vote. The APA said some research suggests that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.

The piece goes on to give fair coverage to thoughts of both liberals and conservatives on the subject. I think "repudiates" may have been too strong a word, but maybe that was in expectation that conservatives would be more frustrated with the report than they actually were. Some conservative therapists were actually pleased with the report. Take a look at The Wall Street Journal:

The men who seek help from evangelical counselor Warren Throckmorton often are deeply distressed. They have prayed, read Scripture, even married, but they haven't been able to shake sexual attractions to other men -- impulses they believe to be immoral.

Dr. Throckmorton is a psychology professor at a Christian college in Pennsylvania and past president of the American Mental Health Counselors Association. He specializes in working with clients conflicted about their sexual identity.

The first thing he tells them is this: Your attractions aren't a sign of mental illness or a punishment for insufficient faith. He tells them that he cannot turn them straight.

But he also tells them they don't have to be gay.
...
"We're not trying to encourage people to become 'ex-gay,'" said Judith Glassgold, who chaired the APA's task force on the issue. "But we have to acknowledge that, for some people, religious identity is such an important part of their lives, it may transcend everything else."

Even Baptist Press had an interesting take.

TORONTO (BP)--In a report that has resulted in widely differing interpretations, a 130-page paper from an American Psychological Association task force Wednesday concluded there is little evidence that "gay-to-straight" therapies work, but -- in a nod to Christian conservatives -- said religious individuals who desire to leave homosexuality should be assisted in doing so.

H/T Mollie Hemingway.

Ann Arbor loses the News

On July 24, the Chicago Tribune printed a mournful column, lamenting the death of the Ann Arbor News. Unlike many other cities, the death of the Ann Arbor News is the death of the only major news source in the area.

The News was not just a hometown paper for the 114,000 residents of this university town about 45 miles west of Detroit, it was the hometown paper. Ann Arbor has become the first American city of any size to lose its only full-time daily.

But perhaps understandably (less so for the many journalists sitting in the seats), they are starting from the ground up. The editors are trying a business model that has been semi-successful for other digital news outlets: small staff, small circulation, niche advertising (see AnnArbor.com--oh and the top story this morning is dead swans).

While this maybe the first "city" to lose it's full-time daily, there's certainly been documentation about what happens when a community loses it's daily. Want to make your palms sweat? See what happens to volunteerism, civic involvement and political participation when a local newspaper closes.

It's impossible for me personally to have a clear thought on the matter of a newspaper closing. On one hand, I've sat in the newsroom. I know what the loss of a colleague is like and I know the good that a skilled journalist can do. But I'm unfortunate enough to see where the market is headed. Will news survive? Of course. Will newspapers survive? Yes, in some capacity. But it means a new model with new strengths and a lot of new weaknesses. With that in mind, it's easy to understand how the columnist feels when he writes:

This radical reinvention looks ominously like a smoke screen for radical cost-cutting and wholesale firings, one that will be replicated in city after city where lone, moribund daily newspapers are so many dominoes waiting to fall now that this first one has toppled.

As I mourn the passing of the Ann Arbor News, I’m haunted by the fear that AnnArbor.com will succeed. Even more, I’m haunted by the fear that it will fail.

Is there a way to save these newspapers, that still attract millions online but don't charge for it? Some people think so. The LA Times on "Free Riding" and it's affect on newspapers:

Practically anyone can start a website and get software that snags fresh online
news from those who originate it. Website owners pluck the freshest, most interesting reports and quickly post condensed rewrites. That costs them little, and they then surround the rewrites with cut-rate ads.

When readers get to work in the morning, they can read fresh news on the newspaper's site or equally fresh rewrites on competitors' sites. The free-riders may link to the newspaper's report, but why click on the link to read the same story twice?

Take Newser.com, an "aggregator" of others' news reports. It boasts on its site: "We choose the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7 -- you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters."

Competing with each other and newspapers for advertising, free-riders enter the market undercutting each others' ad rates until many of them can still profit, but newspapers, which bear the hefty labor costs of gathering the news, can't.

But on the other side, some journalists have, despite the obstacles, managed to make it in the digital world. But they're reporting on a beat, not on a city. Individual journalists can survive, but the industry?

GopherLink! Walter Cronkite passes--the end of an era. Read the excellent Washington Post piece here.

NASA tapes over Apollo 11 moon landing

Seriously? I learned this lesson when my sister taped CareBears over my copy of Godzilla Vs. Megalon--you always break off the little tab.

It was humankind's crowning achievement, with millions around the world glued to their television sets as US astronaut Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon 40 years ago.

But in the scientific equivalent of recording an old episode of EastEnders over the prized video of your daughter's wedding day, Nasa probably taped over its only high-resolution images of the first moon walk with electronic data from a satellite or a later manned space mission, officials said today.

It means that the familiar grainy and ghosting images of Armstrong's "giant leap for mankind" are all that remain from the mission, though the space agency has managed to digitally restore the footage into new broadcast-quality pictures that it released today.

"I don't think anyone in the Nasa organisation did anything wrong. It slipped through the cracks and nobody's happy about it," said Dick Nafzger, one of the last Apollo-era video engineers still working for the agency at Maryland's Goddard Space Flight Centre.

A small donation could feed a journalist...

H/T Mitzi

Role of Media in Islam

Reviews: Essay, “Local Contexts of Islamism in Popular Media,” “Reporting Islam,” and “Muslims and the News Media.”

This post will be a review of the three different works I’ve sampled in the past two weeks. All of them are so interrelated that it makes sense to summarize them together.

“Local Contexts of Islamism in Popular Media”

In this essay, Lila Abu-Lughod talks about the degree to which Egyptian television serials in the past two decades have shaped Egyptian perceptions of Islamism, the piety movement. She notes that Egyptian television serials work differently from other nations. Egyptian serials run day-after-day for a maximum of 30 episodes and then they’re finished. And often these serials run through the nation’s religious authority, al-Azhar. She notes that in the early 90s, there were few depictions of Islam (or Islamism) in television serials. “All that viewers could see were people for whom religion was taken for granted as part of their identity and that sometimes offered solace in times of personal trouble. Piety was seen only among the elderly” (Abu-Lughod 8). But then in 1993, a new policy was announced that Egypt would try to combat terrorism (which was happening through Islamism) through media. Since then serials have begun to appear which show Islamists as swindlers, thugs, etc. In the famed “boy-loses-his-way” storyline, serials tend to have the boy drift toward Islamism which will put him in even more trouble.

For a time, there was outrage from Islamists in Egypt, especially the rural Upper Egypt. Because many Islamists were from rural areas. Well, post-9-11, a serial was released set in Upper Egypt in which the rural people are tempted to join Islamism. They don’t expressing that they don’t do that because “I’m a Sa’idi” (Abu-Lughod 17)! Thereby framing Islamism as criminal activity and Upper Egypt as an honorable place. She notes that the essential movement of television serials has been toward depicting religion as culture (Abu-Lughod 15-16). This narrative does accentuate differences between traditional Islam, Islamism and Coptics (which is perhaps negative), but those differences are made to see culture and perhaps, relative.

This is an interesting essay, because this is a case where there is a good Islam and a bad Islam, but the media gets to tell us which is which.

“Reporting Islam”

This book is the culmination of a study on the depictions of Muslims in British media. Not surprisingly, the British media doesn’t come out well, for numerous reasons.

(1) Lack of Muslims in newsrooms- if newsroom culture lacks someone who can be a “normal” Muslim model, it’s difficult for the media to determine what Islam is if there’s no model.
(2) Lack of knowledge about Islam- the people in the newsrooms know little about Islam, the most they know is what has been mediated, likely by others who know little about Islam.
(3) Increase in poverty, prison-rates among Muslims- this is perhaps a bit self-perpetuating. In Britain, if Muslims are increasingly criminal and lower-class, society and depicted that way, society to a certain extent keeps it that way (Poole 20).

Interestingly, the study found that depictions of Islam on a local level (ie. The story on the local Ramadan, etc) tended to be far more positive than those on a global level. On both levels, they’re the same religion, but are depicted differently in the two narratives (Poole 258). As a result, Poole notes that discourse is closed between the British and Muslims. The media conditions have resulted in defensive constructions of identity on the part of the Muslims (Poole 18), while simultaneously created the British continue to put Muslims into a presumed narrative.

“Muslims and the News Media”

This was the most helpful resource by far. In this book, Gary Bunt has a chapter foreseeing the information revolution in the Islamic world. He notes that the internet is a tool proliferating through the Islamic world, making freedom of speech and expression more possible even in authoritarian regimes (Bunt 160). To certain extent, the internet is still just a tool of the elite and the government. The governments of some countries have seen the internet as a tool to better survey possible dissidents. But of course it hasn’t worked that way and the internet is a growing force, expanding quickly beyond elites (Bunt 153).

Governments have applied the Internet as a means of observing ‘dissident’ activities online. However, sophisticated encryption programs have made control of many aspects of the Internet more problematic for government agencies in Muslim (and other) contexts, for example in censoring email exchanges…States have been under attack from opponents, including hackers/crackers of varying grades of proficiency (including Muslims) seeking to compromise governmental online interests – for example through changing content of websites or accessing ‘confidential’ databases. These ‘Muslim hackers’ range from individuals to highly organized groups, not all operating with ‘Islamic’ agendas in mind (Bunt 160).

And the internet has allowed differing interpretations of Islam a virtual space to discourse. Indeed, internet skills have grown so important to Islam that they are now being taught in Islamic seminaries.

The online translations of al-Qaradawi [a Qatar-based religious scholar] into other languages, and the reproduction of his materials on affiliated websites, have been extremely influential, particularly following 11 September. His website statements on jihad, denouncing the targeting of civilians as contrary to Islam, were quoted in the international press (Bunt 160).

And finally Bunt notes that authoritarian control is much more difficult in an internet age. The ability to speak out against an interpretation of Islam is more difficult when you need a printing press or a television studio to spread the message than when you only need an iPhone (Bunt 159-161).

TV News this summer needs more...well, news

When it's slow news, count on TV news to make some news, ALOT of news. H/T Marcus Powers

I know I'm biased, but would it be wrong to suggest we stop covering dead celebrities and go back to covering, you know unrest in Iran, the auto/financial crisis?

Jon Stewart satired this very issue night before last with the "RIPpy Awards" for Obitutainment. Some hard-hitting reporting. See below:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Rippy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Obitutainment
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

How reporting in Arab states is eerily similar to reporting on evanglical Christian campuses

Review: The Doha Debates

I know this sounds far-fetched. But similarities are striking between the struggles a journalism student faces on an evangelical Christian campus and a working journalist faces in the Arab media. The "ah-ha" moment came during a viewing of the Jan 31 2006 episode of the Doha Debates, "This House believes that Arab media needs no lessons in journalism from the West."

Arab media expert and academic Marc Lynch noted in the debate that Arab media in the last few years had improved leaps and bounds. And said that while the Arab media in a given state can't cover their own state, they're remarkably good at covering neighboring states. The host, Tim Sebastian took him to task:

TIM SEBASTIAN: They do the easy things, they criticise other people. You'll never get an Arab station criticising its own leadership on its doorstep, do you?

MARC LYNCH: That's true but if you look at the range that's out there, if you want to find someone criticising Qatar , just go to Abdallah's station, it's easy enough to do.

TIM SEBASTIAN: That's the point, you have to go somewhere else. It's easy to throw stones over the wall and then escape, isn't it?

MARC LYNCH: The difference is that in the past, nobody could criticize Saudi Arabia because there was no place to do so. Now there is, and if anyone wants to criticise Qatar , there's a place to do it.

TIM SEBASTIAN: But it's neither in Qatar nor in Saudi Arabia.

MARC LYNCH: Does it matter? These are pan-Arab debates for pan-Arab audiences. Does it really matter where the studio is located?

TIM SEBASTIAN: But isn't the point of journalism to act as watchdogs on your own turf?

MARC LYNCH: I think that's the next step. The next step has to be local media, local media which takes on the hard problems and holds local leaders accountable. Al Jazeera cannot do that, Al Arabiya cannot do that (Doha Debates).

Let me list some of the similarities:

(1) In Arab Media, you can criticize other countries, but it gets more dicey when it comes to criticizing your own government. In Christian schools, you can talk about scandals on other schools no problem, but when it comes time to report on your own Christian school, it also becomes problematic. This becomes especially true if the Arab state/Christian school helps fund the news outlet.

The difference here of course is quality of response. The stakes are higher in Arab media, where you can be detained, or in some cases assaulted and killed (Doha Debates). In the meantime, Christian Schools face prior restraint, news outlet closing or expulsion at worst.

(2) In Arab Media, it's perceived as easier to write an opinion piece critiquing something in government than a news story because in a news story, people either don't want to be quoted or you'll find yourself perpetuating governmental spin. In Christian schools, many of which are private institutions that can fire on the spot, professors don't want to be quoted. Because they don't want to get fired. So it's easier to write an opinion piece critiquing the school.

(3) In Arab Media, journalists at times practice self-censorship for their own safety, and oftentimes because they don't want to be perceived as "hurting" their country (Rugh; Ayalon). In Christian schools, journalists at times also practice self censorship because they don't want to make waves with their professors/other students or perceived as hurting a "Christian brother."

I'm sure I'll find more...

Why is an advocacy organization writing for the Washington Post?

Apparently, this has been going on for at least the past week, but I only noticed it this morning. I was reading an article on "How a Loophole Benefits GE in Bank Rescue", and realized the byline was a bit odd. It was a double byline that looked like this:

By Jeff Gerth and Brady Dennis
ProPublica and Washington Post Staff Writer

On their website, the Washington Post explains the shared story:

About This Story

This article was reported jointly with Jeff Gerth of ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. ProPublica is supported entirely by philanthropy and provides the articles it produces, free of charge, both through its own Web site and to leading news organizations.

What does it mean when an advocacy organization can write for the Washington Post? "Hey yeah, Woodward, we want you to do this investigative piece on theft of campaign documents. We're going to team you up with a journalist from the Heritage Foundation."

Now Heritage Foundation isn't ProPublica, but I think you see my point (It's hard to make an equivalent, because I don't know of any right-wing journalist advocacy organizations. I'm not sure what that says about conservatives or journalism). How will this affect coverage and the framing of stories?

ProPublica hasn't not been immune to attacks of bias. In fact the second heading on their wikipedia page is "Concerns about bias":

Because ProPublica received the vast majority of its initial funding through the Sandlers – known for donating heavily to left-wing advocacy groups – there were concerns that the organization would not maintain an independent and non-partisan editorial stance toward the subjects it investigates. In addition, Slate senior writer Jack Shafer noted that Herb Sandler has given "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to Democratic party candidates over the years, as well as millions to left-leaning or progressive political advocacy organizations such as MoveOn and ACORN. The Sandler Family Supporting Foundation has also made grants to Oceana, Rocky Mountain Institute, Environmental Defense and the Tides Foundation.

Of course, where do you get funding for journalism nowadays? Well, unfortunately, I'm not sure you can get it from a place that isn't pretty civicly involved on one side of the aisle or the other. Wearing an intern directors cap, it's neat to think about putting an intern to work at ProPublica and seeing their work appear in the Washington Post (you can't do anything but a coffee-fetching internship in the Washington Post newsroom because of union regulations. You can do a bit more in the WashingtonPost.com--it's in northern Virginia, out of union territory). But this is worrisome in terms of the future of journalism. I would suspect that the Post is embracing ProPublica as a result of short staffing. But what is lost in this arrangement?

Why Twitter shouldn't be confused with Journalism

@Woodward: Gas is Xpensive.
@Bernstein: 4 Real
@Woodward: OMFG! Prez is bugging some cribz!
@Bernstein: No Way! WTF?
@Woodward: 4 Real. Nixon is Rediculus!!!!! G2G. Lunch. Vietnamese. mmmm

H/T Monty Hobbs

Review: The Arab Press

For the basic themes of this book, read this, then subtract two decades.

That said, “The Arab Press” is the original study of press in the Arab world. Rugh notes in this book, which looks across sixteen Arab countries, that the press in the Arab world reflects and takes the shape of the country it’s in.

There is an intimate, organic relationship between the media institutions and society in the way those institutions are organized and controlled. Neither the institution nore the society in which it functions can be understood properly without reference to the other.

This is certainly true in the Arab world. The news media there, in fact, are particularly interesting in this regard because of the roles they have played during the third quarter of the twentieth century as most of the Arab countries gained their full independence and developed their own national institutions (Rugh xxvi).

The main thesis of Rugh’s book is that arab news organizations take the shape of, and reflect the country their in. It’s hard to generalize about Arab press because there are some countries with significantly freer press than others.

The Four Models of Journalism make an interesting appearance in this book however (though they’re slightly altered). Rugh asserts that, in the arab press, there are four basic press models:

(1) Authoritarian-

“the media support and advance the policies of the government, which controls the media either directly or indirectly through licensing, legal action, or perhaps financial means. The regime allows the media some discussion of society and the machinery of government, but not of the people in power” (Rugh 25).

This system arises from the assumption that truth arises not from the masses, but from the elite few. This press model is perhaps similar to public relations model in the United States, though in the U.S. few people would consider this legitimate journalism.

(2) Libertarian- holds that

“the media must be completely free of government controls and provide the consumer with sufficient objective information and variety of opinion so that the consumer can make up his or her own mind. The libertarian media are both an outside check on government—the watchdog function—and a vehicle for what Milton called a “free and open encounter” of ideas which should help reasoning people distinguish truth from error” (Rugh 26).

This press model is perhaps most similar to the American model of the press. Multiple, competing viewpoints. Objective, independently verified facts as a foundation.

(3) Social Responsibility- formed in response to the libertarian model, Rugh said this model has had a harder time taking hold in the Arab world in it’s pure form for both cultural and economic reasons. There are segments of society that didn’t have either the funds or the reputation to create their own press in the 20th century that was strictly their viewpoint. They had a better chance of being heard in the libertarian model.

This is the party press. The press with a bias, presented openly and delivered unapologetically. The press has a social responsibility to back a certain viewpoint (Rugh 26). This model corresponds with the European model of the press.

(4) Totalitarian- this is press model that perhaps isn’t even worth consideration in American, but overseas, it is.

“Under the totalitarian system, all information media are centrally controlled by the government, whether they are in private or public hands, and unapproved foreign or other competing media may not be distributed at all in the country. Unlike the negative controls of an authoritarian media system, which merely restricts anti-regime content in available media, totalitarian controls are intended to force the media into a positive, active role of agitation and propaganda within an overall scheme to mobilize the population. Most importantly, while the authoritarian system generally is concerned only about mass media and outward obedience and allows free speech in private, in the totalitarian system, the rulers attempt to control all aspects of a person’s life, demanding an individual’s positive, active commitment in public and private to their goals” (Rugh 27).

This is the PR Model on steroids. This is the Stalinist USSR. This is 1984. Thankfully, this has few homes in the world today, but in previous imperialist days, the Arab media saw this press model in their homes.